Our Story

Our brand name is derived from the Latin word “maison”, which means home, and the Greek word “Lygos”. There have been numerous names given to this incredibly old city throughout its history. Lygos was the oldest name, followed by Byzantion, Augusta Antonina, New Rome, Constantinople, and now Istanbul.

Ecclesiastical terminology uses the term “bright-sadness”. This refers to a mixed emotion of joy, over the anticipated help from God and salvation, and sorrow, for the suffering of life and sin. This bright-sadness accurately characterizes the later period of Byzantine ecclesiastical art, iconography, music and architecture. Byzantine concepts of painting, iconography, and scholarship were fundamental to the cultural development of the whole of Europe during these centuries.

Impact of the Byzantine art developed Italian Renaissance and on other centers of Europe artistic and intellectual activity. In 1557 memory of the power of the “basileaia ton Rhomaion” was transformed, as a new name – Byzantium – was given to the state. When the Byzantine Empire lost its power, its art and faith flourished, leaving a lasting legacy for its citizens, whether they were “Romans” or “Hellenes”.

The Byzantine custom of covering all or part of an icon with a decoration of precious metal enhanced by enamel, pearls, or gemstones, experiences an extraordinary flowering under the Palaiologan dynasty beginning in the thirteenth century. These are testaments to Byzantine piety; seem singularly to have inspired the genius of goldsmiths.

Lands of Lygos were and always will be home to a diverse ethnic population in addition to its core of Greeks. The city’s cosmopolitan nature will always expand. Our mission is to go back to the age of faith and power of the byzantine and bring back their heritage to the future.